Screenshots

nice shot!

A picture certainly paints a thousand words.

I like your title for this picture..."Rezeki"

another title
Halal

Probably a non Umno member or crony too. Just a hard working Malay , admired by all.There are many of them around too, never relying on NEP as compared to the cronies being driven around in Merc and BMW.

Folks

That's the photo of the face that turns the engine of Malaysia's develop.

Not those instant UMNO-sponsored millionnaires with gold-fitted furnitures and fleets of merc and bmw but who got rich on the sweat of others.

There are many like him who earns a decent living. How many of those high flying UMNOputras can tell themselves they had made an honest livelihood, and crutching on NEP?

I like the photo and the story behind it. It is certainly much more meaningful than those of that Grand weddings of the Who's Who and, yes, the current blue-eyed boys of Umnoputeras' Mat Rempits!

May be someone should start some kind of campaign to catch all these relatively small moments of truth... moment of innocent.

Jeff, may be you can be the one who initiates the campaign in the midst of the prevailing "hazadous hazzy environment"? What say you?

yup those r the kind of people that move Malaysia development engine without stop or pause and in actuallity NEP should help them ...not those certain quarter only...and rezeki halal = berkat = joyful living = satisfaction. now if only all our politicians are like this... Malaysia can be top of the world in every aspect. But i guess its all just a dream. why?
Poly = many & tick - blood sucking creature => politic = many blood sucking creature... adieu

Jeff, I have always respected you for voicing out your displeasures, many of which I share.

However it seems that recently you have resorted to jumping on any opportunity to condemn our politicians.

Fair enough, the picture is beautiful. Working class hard, honest labour is always something that gets me to my heart. And that phenomenon exists universally, not just Malaysia. Working class people in most capitalist countries always 'shine' in this way compared to the middle/upper class.

But to then question, as the poster above did, why our politicians cant act the way this man acts is ignoring the very basis of a class society.

Dont condemn politics. Criticise their acts where it deserves criticisms but give credit where its due. Without politics there is no society.

Vedderian

I am not sure whether you read properly other people's blogs as much as you write yours.

"Umnoputras" do not mean "politicians".

If you are Malaysian living IN Malaysia, you would know the meaning of the term Umnoputras as Umno Politicians.

You are barking at the wrong word.

Vedderian

correction

If you are Malaysian living IN Malaysia, you would know the meaning of the term Umnoputras as NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENTING Umno Politicians.

"Rezeki halal". I could not agree more.

Apt description for honest wages from honest work, as opposed to the wealth of rent seekers and questionable crony deal experts.

There has been a malignant cancer attacking the very core of Malaysian society for years in the name of social equality and development.

And the sympthoms include brash arrogance and disregard for justice and law.

Witness the MPK councillor Mazlynoor, who said:

"So, you visited the area. You took a lot of photographs. No reason for you to highlight the matter. Everyone is doing it, but my house is small"

Not repentant, not sorry for the wrong he has done. "No reason to highlight" his wrong-doing pulak.

Matched only by Khir Toyo earlier foot-dragging in the case of Zakaria.

But I have gone off too much on a tangent.

We should remind ourselves that when it comes to crony deals and such, it is not only the UMNOputras.

Questions have also been asked about folks who miraculously become billionaires "overnight" thanks to "uncles", folks with more than one stokebroking company, share allocations meant for a minority racial group which went to certain members of that race instead, etc.

If this abang says SAMPAH to the ASLI report , i might agree with him,but looking into his eyes and smile ... he dont care squat about who gets what .As long as he works and bring the bread and butter home ... all's well .

ps: Jeff ,is that a frest box of GINGKO from China he's pushing ? Gingko good for memory huh ? alas... MELAYU MUDAH LUPA ...

I understand all of your disgust for UMNOputras. I share many of them, trust me.

I just feel that lately this blog rightly or wrongly has been a platform to bash them, almost for the sake of bashing them. And u cant deny that there are very very few people on this blog who hold an opinion other than "UMNOputras are corrupt and immoral" That may well be true I agree, but perhaps we just need to occasionally take a step back and evaluate things from the outside. You know, if anything, just to keep our critiques from descending into bandwagon-bashing. Thats all Im saying.

And I do live in Malaysia. Im only in the UK for studies. And I dont write anywhere near as much as I read.

Allright fair enough I may have jumped the gun about UMNOputras=UMNO but my point above stands, I believe.

Vedderian

If you look at recent ie last 10 years, the behavior and attitude of the politicans, especially those in the Govt, are not examplary... and there is not much to crow about. The governance of the country, the money-politics, the race-based fears instigated in the mass media etc

Name me one that I can crow about our UMNO/MCA/MIC politicians in which they serve the country BEYOND the call of duty?

The good qualities you find that are exceptions to the rule.
Frankly, I can't think of any.

This Govt allowed the Son In Law, unelected, with his hands and eyes on the corporate wealth for himself, his family and his cronies; the condoning of the keris wielding performance of the Education Minister, for God sake, he is in charge of Education, the current mess with the former PM and the current PM; the total silence of MCA when UMNO threatens with racial disharmony each time a justified issue is raised by the Chinese community; the exploitation of religion by UMNO at the expense of other religions simply to have an upmanship with PAS's Islamic credentials; the condoninig of the extreme Islamic regulations imposed by those UMNO-appointed Headmasters and Headmistress in almost all schools in the country; and the broken promises to other races by UMNO at each election time, the manipulation of statistics by EPU with the silent consent of Govt to justify the spread of wealth at the expense of those who should be given assistance by taxpayers...and the politically-infested Govt bureacracy now, in which the public servants take orders from UMNO instead of following Govt policies enacted under the Federal Constitution....etc
The list goes on...

These issues have been swept under the carpet over the last 30 years.

It is par for the course to have UMNO taken to task for being given the privilege of running this country since 1957.

Vedderian

UMNO even infiltrates into mosques. Intervening in Govt departments, Ministries so that Govt bureaucrats are intimidated with its partisan politics is already bad enough. UMNO even want religion to follow its own political biases.

Read below:

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http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/holds.php?itemid=189

Why I don’t go to the mosque anymore

by
Raja Petra Kamarudin

Awhile back, the imams of a few mosques in Selangor were sacked and replaced with government nominees. Amongst these were the Sungai Buloh mosque near my house, the Damansara Utama mosque (Masjid Mujahideen) where Ustaz Haji Abdul Hadi Awang had been lecturing for more than 20 years (and a mosque the government has been trying to ‘tame’ for that same length of time), the Subang Airport mosque, the Subang Jaya mosque (in front of Subang Parade), and a couple more. The official reason why these imams were sacked is because they refuse to include the Sultan’s name in the doa. (Now, they even mention the Sultan’s son’s name in the doa for safe measure).

I have no quarrel with the Sultan. After all, he is my second cousin. What riles me is the lie they told the Sultan. They presented the termination papers to the Sultan for him to sign and told the Sultan these imams are defiant and oppose the Sultan. That is why they refuse to mention the Sultan’s name in the doa. This is of course not true. I go to these mosques so I know.

Let me tell you here and now, I go to the Sungai Buloh, Subang Airport, Subang Jaya and Damansara Utama mosques to pray. These are my favourite mosques. I also go to the Bangsar mosque and sometimes the Kampong Baru and Jelatek mosques as well, all in Kuala Lumpur.

I personally know the Sungai Buloh imam. I also personally know the Damansara Utama imam, as well as the Bangsar and Subang Jaya imams, and they are all great chaps. The new imams give me an impression that they have chips on their shoulders, maybe because they have been handpicked by the government, so they are proud of that fact.

There are very few mosques left that I like to pray in. Gone is my Sungai Buloh mosque. The Bangsar, Subang Jaya, Subang Airport, Damansara Utama mosques are all ‘gone’ as well. I cannot accept these new imams on the principle that they removed the old ones under false allegations that they are traitors to the Sultan of Selangor.

In fact, when I was told that these imams were about to be sacked, I think about nine in all, I went to meet the Sultan to raise this matter. The Sultan told me he had been told that these mosques I mentioned had all been ‘taken over’ by PAS and that is why the government has to act. PAS was using these mosques to ‘poison the people’s mind’ the Sultan said he had been told (meaning, go against Umno). I don’t blame the Sultan. He does not go to these mosques to pray so he does not know the background of these imams. Therefore he has to make his decision based on feedback from the authorities and from those who are supposed to know better. I mean, even a judge has to make his ruling based on the evidence and testimony. But in this case only one side was allowed to present the evidence and testimony, the government side. The aggrieved parties were not called in or allowed to defend themselves. It was more or less a trial in absentia.

In presenting their case against the imams they played tapes for the Sultan to listen to and it is clear that in their doa they did not mention the Sultan’s name. This is because PAS is against the monarchy so all those mosques under PAS control will not utter the Sultan’s name in the doa was the argument. Hey, tapes can be edited and can be cut and chopped to make the doa sound the way they want it to. I mean, they could have even spliced in Madonna singing ‘Like a Virgin’ if they wanted to. But would religious people from the religious department do such a thing? Certainly the Sultan would not suspect so.

Now you know what kind of scumbags and slime-balls run the religious department. They get rid of imams just because they are not politically aligned to the government. You must be Umno first and Muslim second. You must be ball-carrier first and imam second. You must be true Umno and not true Islam. Then you get appointed as an imam of a mosque. If not then you get sacked.

I do not know the situation in others states like Perak though I know as soon as Umno took over Terengganu in 2004 they purged that state of all PAS aligned imams. Maybe the famous and most vocal Perak Mufti who has now become almost a living legend can tell us. Is he only passing fatwahs or decrees while these same things are happening in his state as well? Have any ‘PAS’ imams been sacked and replaced by Umno imams in the State of Perak?

Soon after the new imam of the Sungai Buloh mosque was appointed, I went there for Friday prayers and was appalled when I heard his sermon. He said that we must not oppose the government. It is un-Islamic to oppose the government. Going against the government goes against Islamic teachings.

What crap! (That’s the only four-letter word I am going to use today, but push me and I will use the ‘F’ word). Is not Moses a Prophet of the Muslims? And did not Moses go against the government? Is not Jesus also a Prophet of the Muslims? And did not Jesus go against the government. Is not Muhammad the most important Prophet of the Muslims? And did not Muhammad go against the government? There are 25 Prophets mentioned in the Quran and most went against the government? What crap!

Chapter two, Surah Al Baqarah, verse 79 of the Quran says: Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: "This is from God," to traffic with it for miserable price! - Woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they earn.

Yes, that is what the Quran says. Did the imam read the Quran? Does he understand what is written in the Quran? Which verse in which chapter of the Quran does it say we must not oppose the government? The imam never mentioned which verse in which chapter he is quoting from. What the Quran does say in verse 79 of chapter two is that those who write their own verses for profit and claim that it is from God are headed for eternal condemnation. And this imam is a salaried imam. He is not serving God, he is serving money. He is one of those mentioned in chapter two, verse 79 of the Quran. And we are told to be wary of such people; those who twist God’s word for profit.

Anyway, the government can sack all the imams in Malaysia and replace them with Umno nominees. I don’t care two hoots. I have now stopped going to the mosque to pray. I refuse to do my Tarawih prayers at the mosque during the month of Ramadan. I refuse to go for Friday prayers. I pray alone at home. I detest these mosques and the imams that lead them. They are not my imams. My imams have been sacked by the government. These are government nominees. These are Umno representatives. I do not accept and acknowledge them as my imam.

I have nothing against imams who are Umno supporters. I have nothing personal against Umno per se other than the way it runs this country. (For that matter many Umno people too are hot and bothered about this same point). In fact, many of my close friends are in Umno. I have prayed behind Umno imams before. I have even prayed in the National Mosque many times. But if they sack an imam just because he is PAS and replace him with another imam just because he is Umno, then it is up to me whether to accept this imam or not. A mosque is supposed to be a house of God, not a house of Umno. And if Umno and not God rules in that mosque then it is not a house of God and I am not obligated to pray in it.

So what is the religious department going to do about me refusing to go to the mosque to do my Friday prayers? Arrest me? So what! I have been there before. And when under Internal Security Act (ISA) detention we are not allowed to go to the mosque or attend Friday prayers anyway. So what’s the difference? Arresting and detaining me would just mean I would be assured of not being able to attend Friday prayers. That suits me fine.

Prophet Muhammad was very specific about choosing one’s imam. You are asked to choose your imam wisely. If your imam goes to heaven then you go to heaven, said Prophet Muhammad. And if he goes to hell then you go to hell as well. So why should I pray behind an imam whom I cannot accept? By doing so would tantamount to me endorsing and agreeing to the sacking of the old imam. I will not do that. That is an injustice and I will not be an accomplice to an injustice.

Anyway, how can I accept and pray behind imams who are appointed by the government when that same government imposes the ISA on Malaysians? There are people who are now five years since 2001 still under ISA detention. These people are pious people -- one of them is the Kelantan Menteri Besar’s son who was released just a few days ago -- and they were detained on allegations that they are Muslim terrorists. The government has no evidence of this of course. That is why they were detained under the ISA. If not they would have been charged in court.

How many Muftis and imams spoke out against this injustice? Has the very famous and vocal Perak Mufti said a word or opposed the continued detention of fellow Muslims under a most un-Islamic law? Have they told the government that the ISA goes against Islamic teachings and to continue detaining them is un-Islamic? Have they passed a decree that detention without trial runs contra to Islam? Have they resigned from their posts in protest and to avoid being accomplices to injustice? No, all they worry about is which imam is pro-PAS who should be sacked and replaced with an Umno imam. All they want to decree is that we must not oppose the government as this is un-Islamic. Charlatans the whole lot of them.

Well, they are running this country, not me. Muftis and imams are appointed by the government and they are the government, not me. So Muftis and imams must do what the government wants, not what Islam asks them to do. But I am not going to endorse what they do. I am not going to become a collaborator. I have stopped going to the mosque either for Friday or Tarawih prayers. This whole month of Ramadhan I have not gone to the mosque to do my Tarawih prayers even once. This year I may even boycott the Hari Raya prayers. They can perpetuate as much injustice as they want. They can manipulate Islam for their own political end as much as they want. They can twist God’s word and pretend that this is what God said. But I will not be a party to this. I will not walk into a mosque that is guilty of sacking imams because of his political persuasion and they can do what they like about it. And if I go to hell for my action then I will for sure meet them there as well. In fact, they might be there earlier than me waiting to greet me on my arrival.